Book Review – The Power of Six by Nicholas Rossis

Goodreads Synopsis:

Six science fiction short stories written by the author of Pearseus, the epic fantasy series that has reached #1 on Amazon.

Although they seem to be concerned with various themes, there are certain passions that run through them, almost obsessively. What is the nature of reality; digital and corporeal? Is there more to the world than we can see? How far can we trust our senses? What are the consequences of our actions, and is it possible to change them? And if so, would we simply repeat same mistakes, or make new ones?

The anthology includes “I Come in Peace”, an award-winning short story that deals with a tortuous question: how far would man go to alleviate his loneliness? Readers of Pearseus will certainly recognize here the birth of the Orbs.

Humorous and poignant, these short stories are exciting, intriguing and imaginative.

My Review:

I have interviewed Nick on my blog and have become familiar with his work. I am a fan of authors writing short story anthologies and I wanted this book to be enjoyable and well written because Nick is such a generous blogger and author.

He did not disappoint. I enjoyed all of the stories immensely. There were some twists and turns that were unexpected and some stories that were pseudo-tributes to other genres. The book opens with Simulation Over which is reminiscent of Ender’s Game and For the Last Time that is a mini version of Inception. 

A common thread through all of these stories was their potential to be excellent episodes of the classic television program, The Twilight Zone. I could easily picture Rod Serling giving a brief narration to each piece. Nick could easily have been a writer for that show back in its day.

If you are a fan of short stories, or even if you’re not, this collection is worth checking out. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading other work by Nick.

I give this collection four and a half out of five pizzas.